EXPLOITS OF THE WHO

Despite the absence of Eddie Brill it was a great weekend at the Comedyworks. Most exciting is that the new stuff has been on fire. Last Monday’s open mike only added to the list. And the main entity to thank for the influx of inspiration is our little baby-to-be, whom we have dubbed, “The Who”.

I have never been that keen about using family as fodder for material, despite having a very funny family. The main reason is that most family stuff is anecdotal, requiring a bit of storytelling, which is not one of my strengths in terms of stand-up. I tend to like the quicker, observational, and often “out there” material. That stuff interests me more, and it generally comes out in a rhythm in which I’m comfortable.

Also, I kind of like keeping the family stuff at home, private. My stage-time is my unique “David-thought” time, and I’d just as soon leave Mom and Dad and the bee-in-the-car story for the gatherings and parties where we’ve laughed about it a million times before.

Keeping work and family separate has always made me happiest. So why am I writing so many jokes about the Who?

Including Monday’s wildly successful open mike, I’ve added the following titles to the set list in the last week or so: FORESKIN, BLACK, INDUCE, TATTOO, NIPPLES, NAMES, KICK, and ALIEN. There have been other new jokes that have got me excited, but those eight titles represent eight new bits that are purely Who-related. In the last week!

To give that a little perspective: for me, adding ten new jokes to the set-list is a good YEAR! I write more than ten a year, but it’s rare that, by year’s end, they hold up as permanent additions to the repertoire. So ten is a very good year.

Even if half of those eight new bits fall by the wayside, which is likely, I’ve fulfilled nearly half my yearly quota in the last week, just because of Who.

And the kid’s not even born yet!

So why am I suddenly opening up my personal life? And does this mean I’m going to be using this baby as a prop for here on in? Have I gone from distant, cerebral man to loveable, accessible family guy?
Part of the satisfaction of the new stuff has been that most of it has been unconventional in the manner to which I am accustomed. It’s been quirky, heady, and some of it has been downright shocking. BLACK, especially, is shaping up to be a good one. At least one crowd this weekend fell silent with unease and some tentative moral outrage before the punchline blew their tension wide open. That stuff is a blast, particularly ‘cause it ain’t cute.

But for all the creativity and crazy left turns which I enjoy so much, something else seeped into the material this past weekend as I discussed my future offspring. There was this strange element of sincerity. Friday night I spotted another expecting couple in the crowd, and started talking to them about their baby. And we were both excited just talking about it, and I imagine the audience could see that. And before I knew it I was talking about our trip to the OGBYN that morning, and hearing the baby’s heartbeat, and then, BOOM! I nailed a punchline that ripped the room up. Jokes pulled out of simple conversation, a classic maneuver from the Joey Elias playbook. It was organic, spontaneous and from the heart. That anecdote is now in the set as an official bit (officially integrated last night with great success). For those keeping track, it is called ALIEN.

If referencing the Who continues to give me a jolt of humanity that strengthens my connection with the crowd, that’s great news. That connection actually frees me up to be as quirky and strange as I like. Win-win. And from that openness and freedom, there’s no telling what comedic gems may surface.

Maybe I’m exploiting Who a little bit for personal gain, but it’ll be getting its share of the royalties (and most of my shares too, I suspect).

So I’m doing family material. And I like it. I guess having a kid really does change you.

Who knew?